>> live from the dw studios here in berlin, this is the "journal ." i am steve thomas. >> and i am steve chaid. in venezuela, nicolas maduro wins the election, but pressure mounts for a recount. >> the german court postpones the murder trial of an accused neo-nazi. we will have reaction to that delay and what prompted it. and north korea marks the birthday of the founder of the kim dynasty as efforts continue to ease tensions.

>> venezuela's acting president, nicolas maduro, might be proclaiming victory tonight, but the conservative opposition says the ballot that brought him to power must be recounted. henry take up relist says he will not ask henri -- nhenrique capriles says he will not accept the results until there is a full recount. >> a day after the venezuelans went to the polls, the fallout is a shock to the government. it has come as a surprise to many in the country. >> the difference was very small. actually, i was expecting it to be a bigger win. the people have spoken, so we have to respect the results.

>> the opposition are asking for a recount. i think that is fine because the difference was so small and it possible there were mistakes. i agree, they should ask for a recount if they have doubts. >> but nicolas maduro seemed to have no doubts about the outcome. he and his supporters cheered when the tallies were announced and maduro repeated his promise to carry on the legacy of chavez. he also said he would allow an audience -- audit of the election. >> i said if i lost by one vote, i would hand over power tomorrow, but that is not how it happened. i won by 300,000 votes. the people decided. >> at the opposition has accused the government of manipulation -- but the opposition has accused the government of manipulation. they say they have logged some 3000 irregularities. >> i say the loser here is you, you and all you represent.

>> even if maduro is sworn in this friday, he will be inheriting of venezuela -- a venezuela that is deeply divided following the death of longtime leader hugo chavez. >> for more on that, we are happy to be joined by the research director of the -- american institute in berlin. are we going to see a recount? will the results mirror the eventual results -- initial results? >> it is quite possible we are going to see a recount, but i don't expect any miracle. i'm quite sure the results of the recount will be the same. the government has all the power in its hands here i don't expect miracles. >> it is a very close when for maduro. -- win for maduro. is this the end of the socialist revolution started by hugo chavez? >> without a doubt, we will see

a government that faces enormous challenges, not only a divided country, but also, all the economic problems, inflation, the rising crime rates, and pressure from not only the outside, but also within the government. >> those questions that -- pressures that you mentioned all over the place, from inflation to rising crime -- will a recount help the country overcome these divisions? >> i don't think so. what would count is how the future president is going to face these challenges, whether he will show some willingness to depolarize, and also whether the opposition will show some willingness to work together, but i don't expect these developments. if we have a look at the campaign and how the future president and the opposition behaved, i don't expect

miracles. it is very difficult and polarized. >> thank you so very much. to iraq now. or has been a string of coordinated attacks across the country with more than -- there has been a string of court needed attacks across the country with more than 30 people killed. >> the violence comes as iraq prepares to hold its first election since the withdrawal of u.s. troops in 2011. 14 election candidates have already been killed. among the ongoing unrest, only 12 of the country's 18 provinces will be taking part. the german military has transferred 36 seriously injured victims of a conflict in syria to germany for medical treatment. the patients are flown in from jordan where they were already undergoing preliminary treatment. >> this was taken in response

to a direct request from the assistant -- for assistance from the syrian opposition groups to the german government. you are in germany -- here in germany, a court in munich says it is postponing the start of a very closely watched trial of the suspected neo-nazi beate zschape, who is accused in a string of racially motivated murders. >> the trial was scheduled to begin this week, but the court says media passes must be reallocated. there was bitter criticism of how passes were initially distributed, who got them, and who did not. >> the start of the trial will now be delayed until may 6. >> police were preparing for the opening of one of germany's highest profile trials in years when the announcement came through. the munich court said it needed more time to properly distribute a limited number of seats to members of the media. >> the court has decided that

the process of accrediting media for the trial will be started again from the beginning. >> the first round of granting accreditation (media out in the cold, even though eight of the 10 -- turkish media out in the cold, even though eight of the 10 victims were of turkish descent. in berlin, most appeared to believe that the postponement was necessary. >> the result will be that more foreign media will cover the trial, but because of the limited number of seats, there will still be a lot of disappointed people. >> lawyers representing relatives and friends of the victims say the delay is hard on their clients. >> everybody was poised for the trial to begin. they have been waiting for this date for months. this pulls the rug from under their feet. it is incredibly stressful.

>> when the trial starts in may, it is bound to attract worldwide attention. now at least more foreign media will be able to cover the story. >> our correspondent is standing by for us in munich. first off, this was a disaster waiting to happen, wasn't it? only 50 seats available for all the journalists from around the world. why did this decision come so very late? >> i have the impression that, from the very beginning, the court and the judge wanted to establish a strict set of rules. their major rule seems to be we don't care about public opinion, we only care about the law, and the law is the only thing that is right. when finally a lot of journalists and other persons said that the way the court here organized the access to the trial is not fair because there were no turkish media who were getting access to this trial, it was too late for the judges

to make compromises. and this finally ended in a disaster we have now. >> what about the families of the victims? how have they been reacting acco >> -- reacting? >> i was talking with one of the family members. she said it is a catastrophe for the families. they were preparing for weeks for this week when they probably would face the accused murderers and accused helpers of the murderers of their loved ones. they were taking vacations to follow this trial in munich. when all the tension was coming to a peak this week, there was a big emptiness -- there is now a big emptiness. this is a catastrophe. there is a big helplessness the victims and the dems families -- and the victims' families have to face this week. >> can we expect a new accreditation process, perhaps

even the larger courtroom? , at minimum, we will see three more journalists in this trial -- >> at minimum, we will see three more journalists in this trial. they must admit at least three turkish journalists. everybody, all the journalists here hope that there will be a new start and that the court will not only give access to journalists in the courtroom, but that they will establish a live video stream into a room nearby where all the journalists can cover and follow the spectacular trial. >> thanks very much. >> onto business news. while there are still plenty of worries out there about the global economy, there is growing confidence in the long- term outlook for stock markets in the world safe haven investment of choice seems to have lost its shine ash for stock markets. the world safe haven -- for

stock markets. the world safe haven investment of choice seems to have lost its shine. >> for centuries, investors have seen gold as a safe bet. but now they are in a rush to part with the precious metal. on friday alone, 23 tons of it was sold on the markets. a few months ago, gold was still reaching peak prices, but since then its value has plummeted. it is now worth no more than $1400 per ounce. a similar collapse was last seen at the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008. ecb head mario draghi might have something to do with it. he recently hinted that cyprus might need to sell off some of its gold to stock up on cash. cyprus has a relatively small gold reserve, but investors fear other countries facing difficulties, like italy, could follow suit. it has a whopping 2500 tons of gold.

the economy in the u.s. could also have an impact as investors become older and move away from traditionally safe investments, -- become bolder and move away from traditionally safe investments. >> the european shares started the week on a negative note amid some profit taking from last week's rally. eta shows a further slowing of china's economic -- data shows a further slowing of china's economy weighed on the market. we have this summary from frankfurt. >> for many investors, gold has been a shield against inflation and a kind of safe haven in the euro debt crisis. since inflation did not go up as fast as people expected, some people started off profit taking at the end of last week and also this monday. the market, in general, has been depressed by new concerns about

the world economy, china's economy grew not as fast as people expected before. this led to fears that the marketplace -- china will be weaker, especially car shares suffered from that. >> we can stay in frankfurt for a closer look at monday's numbers. the dax finished down by 4/10 of 1%. the euro stoxx 50 down by just over 1/3 of 1%. the dow is shedding 1.4%, trading down at 14,656. the euro is lower against the greenback. >> staying with business news, greece has cleared a major hurdle towards getting its next installment of bailout funding from the eu, the ecb, and the imf. the greek foreign minister said that athens has agreed to the next age of economic reforms. the greek economy is in its

sixth year of recession. unemployment has soared to a record 27%. economists are saying it could start growing again next year. >> back to cyprus now, where the president of the island is busy promoting some creative damage control after the eu approved a bailout that could mean up to 60% of bank balances are taken from deposits exceeding 100,000 euros. nicos anastasiades says he wants to get passports to foreign account holders who use -- lose 3 million euros or more as a result of the bailout. the prospect of free movement within the european union is especially appealing to russians, who hold billions in cypriot bank accounts. >> it looks like banks in the united states are climbing out of the global financial crisis. citigroup rake in the profits in the first quarter, making a 17% leap over a year ago.

consumer banking revenues remain unchanged. citigroup took a hard hit in the u.s. recession, despite -- recession. despite positive results, executives say they are still facing challenges. we will be right back.

>> welcome back. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry has said the united states is open to quote authentic and credible negotiations with north korea on scrapping pyongyang's nuclear program. that statement follows a series of cuts by north -- threats by north korea to attack the u.s. and its allies. >> on the streets of north korea, there is little sign the country is on the verge of any military conflict. instead, people are celebrating the birthday of the country's first communist leader, kim il- sung. >> the leaders of the past still dominate in pyongyang, as they do in all aspects of life in

north korea. people celebrated the birthday as normal on monday. it was no sign of the tensions that have been escalating under his grandson. his bite speculation from the outside world, pyongyang did not -- despite speculation from the outside world, pyongyang did not mark their country's most important holiday with a missile launch. at the south korean border, demonstrators called on kim jong-un's regime to return to the nick -- to the negotiating table. that appeal was echoed by the country's foreign minister. >> we must impress on north korea to realize that without change, there is no hope for economic development. >> there have been attempts to reduce the tension from u.s. secretary of state john kerry, who was in japan on the last leg of his east asian tour. at a meeting with prime minister shinzo abe, he underlined america's commitment to a diplomatic approach, saying the u.s. remains open to discussions with north korea.

>> north koreans repair to their founding father, kim il-sung, as the great leader. he was a communist since his early 20's and won initial popularity leading successful raids on japanese occupation forces in the 1930's. >> in 1948, following the division of korea and the beginning of the cold war, kim il-sung became north korea's first prime minister. here is more. >> in 1950, north korea attacked the south and rapidly conquered most of the peninsula. united nations forces, under u.s. leadership, intervened and repelled the north awesome or sit. war raged for three years -- the north's forces. war raged for three years. in 1950, the ruling parties agreed to a cease-fire, but never signed a peace treaty. the deal ended most hostilities and it set up the demilitarized zone, dividing the peninsula

into two different systems. in the following decades, capitalist south korea cost bird and rapidly became one of the world's industrialized nations -- south korea's -- south korea prospered and rapidly became one of the world's industrialized nations. in 1990, the prime ministers of the two countries met for the first time. the two signs -- sides signed a nonaggression pact and year later. kim day junk -- kim die junk -- kim dae-jung met with kim jong- il. relations between the two korea's relaxed further. it allowed the first reunion since the korean war. after economic reforms by kim jong-il in the 1990's, the two

countries developed the joint economic zone. but in 2006, state television announced that the north had carried out a successful atomic test to the international community condemned the move -- test. the international community condemned the move. in the ensuing six party talks, they attempted to persuade pyongyang to give up its nuclear program in return for aid and diplomatic recognition. the north agreed to end its nuclear program. western nations relaxed their trade sanctions. a year later, pyongyang blew up a cooling tower at the country's main nuclear plant. in 2010, a south korean warship sank close to the country's see border -- to the countries' sea border. early in 2013, the situation

worsened further. north korea declared it was in a state of war with the south because of joint military exercises with the u.s. washington said more weaponry to the region. the two korea's are facing off, as opposed as ever, both armed to the teeth. >> in germany, chancellor angela merkel has averted a defeat in parliament by accepting a comp or my on mandatory quotas -- accepting a compromise on mandatory quotas for women in board rooms. >> leading conservatives, including the labor minister ursula von der leyen, were threatening to break ranks and vote with the opposition parties. >> the issue of gender equality in the boardroom threatened an embarrassing split in the conservative camp ahead of this september's natural elections -- national elections. >> it is a difficult situation for the women and for the party

as a whole. with an actual -- and within national election coming up, it is also a question of tactics. >> labor minister ursula von der leyen was the most common and conservative supporter -- most prominent conservative supporter of quotas for women. they have come up with a compromise. they would introduce a legally binding quota program in their -- until then, they are relying on a voluntary quota set by companies themselves. the family affairs minister believes it will bring more women into leadership roles. >> in terms of executive boards and supervisory boards, i'm certain that 30% rate will not be an issue for most companies in 2020 as it will have re: been -- it will have already been -- due to the voluntary quota.

>> onto bundesliga soccer now. frankfurt and alberta are 2 -- augsburg are two teams pushing for european competition next season. >> in sunday's late game, frankfurt was soundly beaten by augsburg, a team that is fighting to stay in the first vision. >> it was a great day's work on sunday for korean striker ji dong-won, who secured three points four the relegation- threatened to team. overall, augsburg outplayed the visitors. he first scored his first goal -- his first shot cannoned off a defender. augsburg should have made it 2. but jan ingwer callsen-bracker had a penalty. they give to the team chance

after chance -- gifted the home team chance after chance. 2-0, the final score. >> we are taking positive pressure, not negative. it is in our own hands to stay up, and that's how the team went out and played. >> it was an impressive display. augsburg are anything but down and out. >> in sunday's other match, glotzbach -- gladbach suffered a bitter defeat to student card. -- stuttgart. there was a mixup in the defense. stuttgart extended its lead. >> this defeat leaves them off the pace for a top-four finish and mired in the fight for europe league football next season. two golf now, and adam scott

put in the performance of a lifetime to win the masters tournament. rex he overcame argentina -- >> he overcame argentina's angel cabrera to become the first australian to ever win the green jacket. >> it is much more than a green jacket. it is a trophy like no other. it is keeping adam scott warm. after an epic playoff, he became the first australian ever to win the masters. he was made to work hard for it by argentinian angel cabrera. they had both finished on 9 underpar, leading to a tense head-to-head playoff. on the second playoff hole, scott held his nerve and nailed the decisive putt. the battle was a fitting way to earn an historic victory. >> and the celebrated british conductor colin davis has died at the age of 85. >> davis was internationally renowned for his interpretations

of mozart, site alias -- stability is -- mozart and sibelius. >> sir colin davis as guest conductor, playing sibelius, one of his favorite composers, with some of the most talented musicians in europe. >> they like to learn the pieces which they have not played before. it is exciting to play really great music. >> he once said, "music is our most beautiful invention." it was also one of the driving forces of his own life. he played with almost all the world's greatest orchestras. in 1980 three, he became chief conductor of the bavarian radio symphony orchestra -- in 1983, he became chief conductor of the bavarian radio symphony orchestra and helped it achieve international acclaim.

in 1995, he was appointed principal conductor of the london symphony orchestra. in 2009, queen elizabeth honored him with the medal of music, one of many awards he collected in the course of his career. he died on sunday at the age of 85 after a short illness. >> a brief reminder now of our top story. it is looking like venezuela is going to see a recount in the ballot over the weekend for present -- president. that and more stories coming up for you at the top of the hour. stay with us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--